Optical curing dental material is often used by dentists in the curing process, such as bonding or processing a filler in a tooth cavity and cementing the filler on a desired position. As the oral cavity has a limited space for optical curing process, the general optical curing apparatus often includes an elongate and narrow light channeling member such as a bundle of optical fibers with a free end which may be moved close to the optical curing material so that light can be directly projected to the material. U.S. Pat. No. 6,692,251B1 entitled “Apparatus and method for curing materials with light radiation” discloses an apparatus that has a light channeling member removable from the light source so that it may be sterilized for use on different patients. But in practice, not only the light channeling member has to be placed deeply into the oral cavity and might be in contact with the oral cavity, the case rim of the light channeling member also often touches patient's mouth or saliva. While the light channeling member may be detached for sterilizing, the case rim cannot be removed for this purpose. It is not hygienic and has the concern of infecting diseases. This is a serious flaw of medical practice that has to be resolved immediately.
Moreover, the cited reference has the entire structure formed like a gun. As the light channeling member is not turnable, to stick the light channeling member into the oral cavity to cement the material on the upper molar teeth, the entire gun structure has to be turned. The operation originally designed cannot be applied. It is not convenient to use. Furthermore, the light channeling members have different types such as the cylindrical one which has the same diameter for the entire length and the conical one which has varying diameters. Hence the case has to mate the outside dimension of the light channeling member. This hinders interchangeable function. In other words, different light curing apparatus have to be procured to match different types and sizes of light channeling members. This increases the cost of medical equipment and results in waste. It also makes carrying difficult, and needs a larger storage space.
In addition, the radiation member in the conventional optical curing apparatus is an important element and quite expensive. The radiation member in the conventional structure generally is directly held in the case. Heat of the radiation member directly transfers to the plastic case and could results in brittle or deformation of the case, and make the apparatus not appealing. This cannot meet the clean and hygienic requirements in the practice of dentistry. Moreover, as the radiation member is most expensive element in the whole optical curing apparatus, in the event that the case or other element is damaged, the entire apparatus has to be replaced. It is costly. In the conventional structure, the radiation member is directly bonded to the connection lines of the battery. When to replace the battery, the radiation member is difficult to remove. As the radiation member is expensive, it cannot be thrown away with the battery, hence it creates a lot of problems in maintenance. To throw the radiation member away with the battery will increase the maintenance cost. All this indicates that there is a lot of rooms for improvement in terms of economic effectiveness, cost and applicability.